Thursday, January 8th 2009

By marcella jones

Everyday we make decisions about our diet. We choose to eat corn flakes over cocoa puffs, fries over salad and chicken over steak. Of these daily food choices, one of the most critical decisions we make is the choice between brown and white. 

Though some might think that the healthy decision is obvious, this is not the case between all brown and white foods. In fact, the nutritional line between some of these foods is not always brown and white. 

So which should you choose? Whole grains or white grains? Brown eggs or white eggs? Chocolate milk or white milk?

When it comes to carbohydrates, whole grains are by far the healthiest choice. Whole grains are largely unprocessed—they do not have their bran and germ removed, which means that they retain their nutrients. In particular, the fibre content of whole grains is significantly more than processed or refined grains. In addition to its benefits with respect to digestion, fibre is also known to fight heart disease and diabetes, as well as promote weight maintenance since it makes you feel full. 

Refined grain products have their bran and germ removed in the manufacturing process, which strips most of the nutrients and fibre away. Nutrients are typically added back to processed grain products, but not in the same amount as before the processing.

Whole grains also retain their disease-fighting power-nutrients such as folate, vitamin E, magnesium, potassium and selenium. As with fibre, these important nutrients are refined away in the processing of whole grains. 

Get your dose of whole grains through brown rice, wild rice, oatmeal, popcorn or whole wheat pasta. For those who prefer the fluffier and milder flavour of white bread, a new product may help you get some whole grains into your diet—white whole-wheat bread. Made from an albino variety of wheat, this “white” bread has all the nutritional value of whole grains while maintaining the typical white-bread consistency and flavour.

Try to limit your intake of more refined and processed white carbohydrates such as cornflakes, regular pasta, pretzels, white bread and white rice.

Another brown-or-white decision manifests itself in eggs. Contrary to popular belief that brown eggs are healthier, there is actually no difference in the nutritional content between brown eggs and white eggs. The variance in the colour is merely due to the type of hen that produces the eggs. Brown feathered hens produce brown eggs and white feathered hens produce white eggs. 

Eggs are a great source of thirteen essential nutrients and contain only 75 calories, making them a nutrient-dense food (i.e. high nutritional content in proportion to the calorie content). In order to get the maximum benefit from eggs, consume both the yolk and the white. Although the yolk is higher in fat, it contains more healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats than bad saturated fats. 

Instead of the nutritional dilemma between brown or white eggs, a more important factor is how the egg is produced. Consider cage-free or organic eggs if you are concerned about the ethical or environmental impact of your food consumption.

Finally, the last brown-or-white decision concerns milk—chocolate or white? Similar to eggs, the nutritional content of chocolate milk is the same as white milk. Both contain nine essential nutrients including calcium, protein, vitamin D and potassium. The difference comes into play when you consider the additional fat and calorie content, which can be higher for chocolate milk due to the added sugar. However, a serving of chocolate milk has no more sugar than your average unsweetened juice, and provides many more nutritional benefits. Next time you have a craving for a sweet beverage, consider grabbing chocolate milk instead of a carbonated beverage. It will satisfy your sweet tooth and provide health benefits that Coca-Cola cannot.

As it turns out, colour does not necessarily convey whether or not your food choice will be healthy. Whole wheat grains are better than white ones, but brown eggs are no healthier than white ones. Consider each option carefully, and be critical of your food choices. Just because your bread is brown does not mean that it is made with whole grains. Some manufacturers will add molasses or colouring simply to darken the bread colour. 

So go fry up some eggs, toast a slice of whole wheat bread, pour yourself a glass of milk and think about all the essential nutrients you will receive from your food choices.

Tags: chocolate milk, eggs, food choices, milk, processed grains, whole grains